ACLU Asks Government to Investigate Evidence of Taxpayer Dollars Funding Religion in Oregon Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Program

SALEM, Ore. – The
American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Oregon today asked the Department
of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Oregon Department of Human Services
(DHS) to investigate evidence of misuse of taxpayer dollars to promote one faith
over others in an abstinence-only-until-marriage program Stop and Think.
The groups threatened to pursue legal action if HHS and DHS fail to take
sufficient measures within the month.

“This is the third time in recent weeks that the government has been alerted
to serious problems in federally funded abstinence-only-until-marriage
programs,” said Julie Sternberg, Senior Staff Attorney with the ACLU
Reproductive Freedom Project. “Abstinence-only-until-marriage programs
have been proven ineffective, medically inaccurate, and have a history of using
taxpayer dollars to promote religion. It is time for the government to
stop putting ideology above teens’ health.”

The groups sent letters notifying HHS and DHS that the Oregon-based Lane
Pregnancy Support Center had contracts requiring presenters and supervisors of
its Stop and Think program to “possess an authentic relationship with Jesus
Christ; possess knowledge of the Word of God, and the ability to communicate
it’s [sic] truth; exhibit a loving and merciful spirit; [and] attend a Bible
believing local church or fellowship.” These requirements strongly suggest
that religion is an essential component of the Stop and Think
program.

“Taxpayer dollars cannot be used to advance one religion over others,” said
Jann Carson, Associate Director of the ACLU of Oregon. “Clearly both the
state and federal governments have failed to adequately monitor the
abstinence-only-until-marriage organizations they fund with public money.”

Last week, the ACLU sent a letter to HHS identifying several federally funded
abstinence-only-until-marriage materials that violate a federal law requiring
medically accurate information about condom effectiveness. And earlier in
April, a federally commissioned study was released showing that, notwithstanding
the $176 million of federal funds currently poured into them annually,
abstinence-only-until-marriage programs don’t work. The study looked at
several federally funded programs and found that teens who participated in them
were just as likely to have sex as teens who did not participate.
Furthermore, these students had first intercourse at the same age, and the same
number of sexual partners, as students who did not participate.

In recent years, the ACLU has successfully challenged the misuse of taxpayer
dollars in abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. Last year, the ACLU
reached a settlement agreement with HHS over its funding of the Silver Ring
Thing, a nationwide ministry that uses abstinence-only-until-marriage
programming as a means to bring “unchurched” students to Jesus Christ. In
2002, the ACLU brought and won the first legal challenge against an
abstinence-only-until-marriage program funded through Title V. In that
case, ACLU of Louisiana v. Foster, a federal court ordered the Louisiana
Governor’s Program on Abstinence to keep religion out of its taxpayer-funded
program.

Currently, no federal funds are dedicated to supporting sexuality education
that both teaches abstinence and includes complete and medically accurate
information about how to use contraceptives effectively, despite evidence that
these programs can delay sexual activity and increase contraceptive use among
teens.